World Trade Center Art Gallery Elevates Street Graffiti Into the Sky

In our country of capitalism, Manhattan’s Financial District sits at the heart. Sixteen years after 9/11, the area around the World Trade Center has recovered. And a group of artists are working to help that rebirth by converting vacant boardroom space into an art gallery in the sky.

Perched inside a corporate aerie, this gallery on the 69th floor of 4 World Trade Center is flooded with rainbow-colored murals spanning entire walls, intricate wooden sculptures, and installation pieces dangling from the roof as sunlight streams in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

(Courtesy of Silverstein Properties)

The space is essentially “a gallery that has some of the most cutting-edge, fusion street art,” Robert Marcucci, a creative consultant for the Silverstein Group, told Gothamist.

Street and graffiti artists, such as Chris RWK, Lauran YS, Stickymonger and fanakapan currently occupy the space. Nearly 50 artists were recruited from around the world to work on the project, which began last summer, but most of the art includes some kind of New York-centric theme.

The Silverstein Group, which owns the property, said decorating unused office space with artwork is not unusual. But the future tenants, the US headquarters for Spotify, who are set to move in sometime in early 2018, said they like the idea of keeping the artwork intact.

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